Turn Back Time
by Hovinarri
Summary: Ryou is depressed because of Bakura's death. One night he sees an angel willing to turn back time for him so he can fix his mistakes. It's a race against time for Ryou, can he tell Bakura about his feelings before he dies again? shounen-ai,, RBxYB
1. I'll come back to you

Umm, hi. I'm Tiikerikissa, this is my first fanfic... Nice to meet you. I really tried my best here, hope I did at least okay... And I don't indeed own Yu-Gi-Oh. Sadly.

Oh and

Ryou ~ The good Bakura

and

Bakura ~ The yami

Just to make sure you know. ^^;

**Let the story begin!**

Ryou Bakura woke up with tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure what dream he had seen, but it was one that had lead him into crying, so he tried to remember it. But he just couldn't. It was just too painful to think about.

Deep down he knew it hadn't been another nightmare. It had been a good dream, he had just started crying because it wasn't reality. And he knew why.

Because there was one person that starred in all his dreams - and nightmares.

"Bakura..." he whispered the name of his former yami, and he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He wanted to scream, he wanted to ask why Bakura had left him. He wanted to blame the Pharaoh for winning Bakura in that stupid RPG some months back. But what's the use? Bakura was gone... He was dead. He couldn't answer to Ryou ever again. He wouldn't smirk, grin, yell or even hurt Ryou. Never again...

Ryou wished he had known Bakura would be gone so soon. He wasn't sure if that would've changed anything, but all those things Ryou hadn't done and said, all those smirks Ryou hadn't cherished enough... He could've at least given them a little more worth.

If only he could turn back time. Then return to those times, and then he could rewrite some of those moments he hadn't cherished enough back then. He could probably fix everything. Or at least he could try his best.

Ryou couldn't really care less if he had been used. He didn't care if he had been hurt. He just wanted to go back to his yami. And then Ryou realized what that meant.

He didn't want his yami back, no. Bakura had never left him. Instead, Ryou wanted to go back to his yami. Because Bakura had been forever frozen in time, while Ryou had been forced to move on. Sadly, going back wasn't really an option.

With these sad thoghts in his mind, the lonely hikari hid his face in a pillow and eventually cried himself to sleep once again.

_Where am I?_ was the first thought in Ryou's mind after falling asleep.

_Where's Bakura?_ was the second, that came right after the first one.

Naturally his dreams where always different (except for a few ever-returning nightmares, that is), but he had never seen one quite like this. It was very peaceful and everything was colored with warm shades. He looked around and realized he was actually standing in his very own room, everything had just been recolored. There was yellow floor that felt cold. An orange carpet, a fuzzy one, red walls that reminded him of Bakura's crimson eyes... Ryou sighed.

It was very beautiful, but Ryou still couldn't bring himself to like it. Nothing mattered, because Bakura wasn't there. Just like his life, actually. Beautiful, but pointless without Bakura there by his side. Ryou laughed a bit without any humor.

Suddenly there was a huge, flashing light that nearly hurt Ryou's eyes even though it was just a dream. And then an angel was suddenly standing in front of him. She had a light yellow, long cape, a halo and wings, and long, white hair. She looked awfully familiar, but Ryou was still thinking about Bakura. The angel smiled sweetly in a way you could call wonderful, pretty, amazing and such, but Ryou just frowned.

"Don't you like my fantasy?" the angel asked, apparently confused. Ryou looked at the floor, embrassed. It was truly rude to say no to an angel who had apparently created a beautiful fantasy just for you.

"It is really nice, but... No fantasies matter without Bakura." he admitted with a sigh.

The angel girl giggled a little. "How sweet."

Ryou blushed as he realized what he had just said, but the angel just continued. "I can help you, Ryou." Ryou didn't even wonder how this angel knew his name, it felt natural. But he was really confused now. _Help me with what? Create a fantasy with better colors? _Ryou frowned at this stupid joke his mind had come up with._ Or maybe she was talking about... _

The angel continued. "Didn't you just wish you could… Go back in time and rewrite it all? Say the words you should've said in the first place?" Ryou opened his mouth, about to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat. Does that mean he could actually go back to his yami? Of course it would eventually end the same way it did the first time, but... Going back to his yami... The angel interrupted his thinking by continuing. "You have to act quickly, though, because I can't take you too far in time. And you need to fix everything before you have to see him die again, okay?"

Ryou winced at the thought of Bakura's death, and the angel gently wrapped her arms around him.

He wasn't convinced yet, though. "Why would you do all this? Just to help me, seriously?"

The angel smiled and clapped her hands twice. "I would do it..." she leaned closer to Ryou and whispered in his ear: "...So I'll never have to see you cry again, brother." And after those words came another flashing light, and soon his recolored room and the smiling angel disappeared.

**End of chapter 1**

Was that a good cliff-hanger? I really don't know. But I tried once again. :3

So, yes, review so I know what I did right! :D

Will be continuing this soon if I get a few nice reviews~


	2. My Life

Ta-dah! I got the second chapter up, finally! It's a bit longer than the first, yay! And I've been totally writing this story in all my free-time lately, so I'm happy I finally got the chance to update this~! :D

Italics are thoughts, /these are hikari to yami or yami to hikari via mind link/

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or the characters. Believe it.

**Warnings**: Like, two swear words? Shounen-ai, just mentions about it actually, I won't be writing lemons or anything in this story, probably never, don't worry(?)

And thanks for all the reviews and faves and such, I tried my best, so I hope I didn't at least disappoint anybody. ^^;

Here goes, enjoy?

* * *

_Amane... That sure fits her personality..._ Ryou thought. He was feeling a little bit dizzy, but he couldn't quite figure out why. _What did she do again?_ he slowly opened his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could see the ceiling. Gosh, the ceiling. How interesting, and that sure told him a lot about the current situation.  
_/I see that you're awake, yadonushi./_ a voice echoed in his mind. Ryou didn't spend more than half a millisecond thinking whose voice that was; he could name that harsh, cold tone anytime, anywhere. Plus the word 'yadonushi', landlord, was obvious too, since the spirit was living inside his body, so that probably made Ryou the landlord...

"BAKURA!" he cried aloud before thinking it any further. He had missed that voice so during the past few months he could've started crying  
_/That's my name, yadonushi, don't wear it out.../_ came the reply, still in a harsh tone, but Ryou could make out the surprisement and confusement in it.  
"I, uh..." Ryou shook his head again, this time he was embarrassed, blissful and confused. Everything felt awfully real, too real for a dream, but that might just be hopefulness. Maybe nothing was true after all... But Ryou still couldn't quite push away the thought... What if this was reality?

"...what day is today?" Ryou questioned, earning a laugh from his yami, and sat up on his bed, his head still spinning.  
_/Monday... Are you drunk or something, yadonushi?/_  
Ryou sighed. "You know that wasn't what I meant, but never mind then, if it's really that hard for you to answer to a simple question like that."  
Ryou could feel his yami trying to take control now, and even though he was quite sure he was strong enough mentally to keep the control to himself, he decided he could as well let Bakura have his way... Just this once.

With those thoughts in his mind, Ryou slowly retreated into a lonely corner of his mind.  
_Huh, I might as well visit my soul room. I haven't been there in ages_, he figured.  
"What the fuck? If you're really too drunk to remember anything, yadonushi, the last time was yes-ter-day." came a reply from his yami, streching the last word for effect.  
it, Ryou had forgotten that Bakura could read his thoughts if he wasn't careful, thanks to that God-damned mind-link! He sent his yami a mental frown to show that he didn't appreciate his thoughts being read right now, even though his yami would most likely ignore this.

He passed his yami's soul room, and looked at it for a moment. It looked interesting and mysterious, just like his yami, and Ryou was dying to open the door and look inside. But of course he wouldn't dare, because, after all, he was just a whimpy little hikari. He sighed and turned around, now facing the door of the room that reflected his very own personality, hopes, fears, emotions... His life, in short.

Ryou reached for the door and slowly opened it. His first thought about his soul room was 'Blue', because that it was. There was a bed, plain-looking, fluffy, and dark blue. There were a few pillows on it - also blue. And there was a desk - blue too, by a window. 'Huh? A window? Why would my soul room need a window? What can you probably see from there?' Ryou wondered, walking over to the bed to get a new view of the room, from a different angle this time.

This new angle confirmed his thoughts. Everything was indeed blue. Everything, as in from the walls to the ceiling. There wasn't much to see in the room, actually. It was very plain, and now he recalled thinking earlier today - did that even count as today anymore, he didn't know, that his life was meaningless without Bakura, and now Ryou's very own soul room brought back up for this. And blue... Ryou didn't even need to think about what that meant. Blue was a sad colour.

Ryou felt warm tears running on his cheeks and hid his head in the pillows. His soul room was like another painful reminder; Bakura was dead, had been dead for a while, would be dead for a long time, forever most likely... Unless Ryou could change that. He wasn't sure if he was in the past or if this was just a stupid, very realistic dream, but he could try. And he would, too. Ryou felt a little bit better now, and he wiped his tears away. His vision was still a bit blurry, but now he noticed three framed photos on the blue desk.

He reached for the first one, his eyes shining with curiosity, and was happily surprised. The picture was black-and-white, and it portrayed his sister, Amane. This wasn't the angel-Amane that Ryou had seen in his dream (was that a dream or not? Ryou was getting annoyed by all this doubt by now), instead it was Amane before her death. Her white, soft hair flowed on her shoulders, and she was wearing a hoody. Ryou tried to remember what colour that hoody had been, and he was pretty sure it was blue. And even though Ryou couldn't really see it in the black-and-white picture, he was certain there was a glow in her sister's eyes. He smiled warmly for the picture before putting it away.

He reached for the second picture. This one was black-and-white, too, and there was his mother. She was smiling warmly and was wearing... Wait, was that an apron? Ryou could've sworn that was an apron his mother was wearing. He chuckled at the thought, as that was so like her, and put the picture away.

Ryou was reluctant about taking the last picture from the desk, because even though the first two pictures had portrayed his sister and mother, he was certain it wouldn't be his father in the last picture. Nope, his father was there was someone else with a special place in Ryou's heart. He sighed and slowly reached for the last picture.

And he was right, of course. The last picture didn't hold his father, instead there was the thief that had snuck his way into Ryou's heart. His yami, Bakura. Ryou sighed again, this time only out of happiness. Bakura wasn't smiling like Ryou's sister and mother were, he was grinning in his very own, evil way, but it still warmed Ryou's heart a little to see that. Bakura's hair was as white as Ryou's, but much spikier. Ryou tugged his own hair absently, still staring at the picture, trying to make out as many details as he could.

Bakura was wearing the black trenchcoat he wore - would wear in the fatal RPG that ended up killing him. Ryou whimpered slightly because of this thought, and tilted his head slightly. That trenchcoat looked good on Bakura... Now that Ryou thought about it, actually, everything looked good on Bakura... Because he was Bakura. A slight blush warmed Ryou's cheeks, and he continued to look at the picture. Besides, looks weren't the only reason why Ryou cared about his yami, and definitely not the reason that mattered the most.

The thing was that Bakura was - had been - was always there for Ryou. He protected his hikari, and even if it was because he would die if Ryou did, the result was the same, and Ryou appreciated the thought regardless.

And another point; Ryou had always thought he was all alone, but Bakura was actually always there. Bakura was there when Ryou woke up, Bakura was still there when he went to sleep, even though Ryou hadn't really appreciated it at the time. _That was probably because of all the torture I had to live through,_ Ryou noted to himself _but at least he aknowledged my existence, which was better than nothing..._ In reality, Ryou hadn't even known what alone meant before Bakura's death. Then, and only then, he was truly alone.

His thought train was suddenly stopped by the door swinging open. _/Respect people, knock before entering? Not in the world of Bakura!/_ Ryou thought and frowned.  
_/Very funny, yadonushi. Ha ha./_ came a reply to his thoughts from Bakura.  
Ryou suddenly realized he was still holding the framed picture of his yami, and panicked, hiding it behind his back. For this, he earned a suspicious glare from the thief.

_/What are you hiding behind your back, hikari?/_ Bakura stepped forward.  
_/I-i-i-it's n-nothing!/_ Ryou stammered and blushed so hard it was far from convincing.

But Bakura wouldn't continue the discussion about that subject. _/If you're still too drunk or just don't care, like you shouldn't, mind you, I'll inform you that you have school today./_  
_/I'm not drunk! And if I was, it would be all because of your presence!/_ Ryou complained, really not considering the possibility Bakura might hear him, but when his yami gave him a weirded-out-stare, Ryou thought he could die.  
_/You... You didn't hear that, right?/_ he pleaded through his thoughts. He needed to prove Bakura that he cared, not just randomly say it like that!  
The only response from Bakura was a slow nod.

* * *

I love going for cliff-hangers. Hope that worked.

Until next time, review to make sure there will be a next time soon enough!


	3. Your Reasons, Your Words

Wheee~! Skiiiing holiday here, I have time to upload~!

So the chapter's titled Your Reasons, Your Words, and it's from _Bakura's_ POV. Shocking, is it not?

Warnings: Slight abuse, OOC, stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh in the slightest, got it?

And in case you didn't know, shinigami is a God of death. Ya.

Tell me about my spelling errors if you spot any, no beta + writing around 3 AM causes stuff like that to happen. I tried to fix them, though, spell-checked twice et ceteraa, but it's still possible. ^^;

* * *

A silence filled yadonushi's soul room after those words had slipped through the mind-link. One might consider it an awkward situation, but it didn't really matter to Bakura. Just because he was positive about what exactly was hidden behind those words.

Fear.

Yadonushi was afraid, Bakura didn't even bother to check the mind link to make sure, as it was so awfully obvious from his actions, his words, his reactions. His yami had given him a good reason to be afraid, yes, but it was still awfully pathetic to let it show like that.

Bakura raised his gaze to see his hikari's cheeks crimson red. He was most likely embarrassed for showing such weakness to the exact person who always called him a weakling. Bakura stood up and left the soul room, taking control again. His hikari deserved a punishment for this.

After some cuts had been made on his yadonushi's right arm, Bakura forced him back in control again to let him feel his punishment. His hikari visibly winced from pain, but just this once he didn't start crying.  
/_Hurts hurt hurts..._/ the hikari whined and made a weak attempt to force it to stop bleeding.  
/_Get used to it?_/ Bakura suggested acidly, earning a weak attempt of a thank-you from his hikari. What the hell was that for? Did he suddenly like being hurt? Bakura wondered silently.  
Whatever the reason, the hikari teetered on his feet and made his way to the kitchen.

Yadonushi bandaged his arm rather fast and skillfully - he was probably more or less used to things like this, living with an insane, cruel, bloodthirsty tomb robber. After this he started making breakfast for himself, and Bakura made another remark that he would be late from school, just to see him panic. Because seeing his yadonushi panic, fear, cry... It gave Bakura some kind of sick, twisted pleasure, even though it also annoyed him at the same time. He felt like the feelings merged together, and he wasn't sure whether he should be hurting the white-haired teen or not. But hurting him was what he had done up until now, why try to fix something if it works?

But the result to this note wasn't what Bakura had expected, what he had partly wanted. No panic or fear followed, yadonushi just muttered that he didn't care, that he wouldn't have gone there anyways. Bakura didn't bother to question this - why would he?

While eating a half-burnt toast, his hikari seemed like he wanted to say something, but ended up shutting his mouth before anything actually passed his lips, again and again. It bothered Bakura - it didn't, but it did. After his hikari had finished eating, Bakura decided to change the subject - since there wasn't any.

/_Aren't the idiotic friends of yours heading to the museum next week?_/ He asked casually, because Bakura knew they were, he had-

"NO!" Ryou suddenly screamed, dropping the plate that had been in his hands. It collided with the floor, causing a harsh crash to echo in the apartment as it broke into a million pieces. The white-haired hikari, however, made no attempt to clean up the mess he had made, instead falling on the floor almost like his feet had stop obeying him all of a sudden.  
"No, no, not like this, not so soon, I don't-" he chanted, his voice breaking down in the end as he started sobbing uncontrollably.

The tomb robber didn't know what had just happened, let alone why it had happened. Was it something his so-called "friends" had done to him? Bakura didn't know what he was supposed to do about the situation, either. Was he really supposed to do something, anyway? Wasn't his hikari in obvious pain just a good thing? All this doubt made Bakura feel sick, and seeing that his yadonushi was still crying, he figured he could try sneaking a peek to the teen's mind by carefully opening the mind link a little bit.

If it was even possible at the very moment, hikari's thoughts were even messier than the hikari himself. Bakura found sadness, he found joy, he found loneliness, he found fear, he found some things he wasn't familiar with, so he couldn't really name them. And what Bakura found the most surprising; all these feelings seemed more or less connected to himself.

Bakura closed the mind link before his hikari could sense his confusion. Though it was soon proved a wasted effort, as his hikari was still crying, still sitting on the floor, hugging his feet as if that would help. It seemed like he hadn't moved an inch while Bakura had been viewing his thoughts. Here the yami decided that some more pain might force the teen to stop moping. Not like Bakura had anything better to do than torture his light a little.

Some more cuts were made by Bakura's very own knife, and his hikari finally seemed to snap back to reality. Not only that, but he seemed remotely happy about the current situation.

Keyword: seemed. Bakura could feel his sadness behind those smiles, but he didn't really bother to start guessing the reasons. Besides, his hikari had really been acting really weird all morning, so there was probably no use to even try to figure him out now.

In the afternoon, the little (in every meaning of the word) Pharaoh-clone gave yadonushi a call. He asked why the other hadn't come to school, and the white-haired teen said he had a horrible headache. Bakura was positive this wasn't the case, as the only pain in his hikari's mind seemed to be directed towards his wounds. The brat, however, took this excuse without questioning it at all and told the white-haired teen about what he should study, gaining a warm thank-you from him. Weirdly enough, yadonushi did not go even near to his school books that day, not to mention that he hadn't even written down a word of what his friend had said to him, instantly pushing away the whole subject about school.

By the evening, the hikari actually seemed like every single passing minute was driving him insane. He wouldn't stop looking at the clock, and judging from the thoughts that slipped through the carefully guarded mind link, he wouldn't stop thinking about every passing second. Almost like a shinigami had just told him the exact moment when he would die, and he couldn't force the thought and the ever-nearing moment from haunting his mind.

And around four times every hour, the hikari would carefully call Bakura by his name and continue it until he gained an annoyed response from the thief. Then he would sigh happily and go back to whatever he had been doing before. That was more than weird, but Bakura still didn't care. So what if his hikari was going insane, as long as he did no serious harm to his body, since Bakura still had use for him.

Just when the day was slowly coming to an end and Bakura had gotten more or less used to the weird way his hikari was acting, said hikari managed to take him by surprise again.  
/_Bakura?_/ the teen called his name carefully. That had to be the 50th time or something on that very same day, and he never really seemed to have anything sensible to say either.  
/_Yah._/ Bakura muttered absently, having already been half-asleep in his soul room. And then the door of that room slowly opened with a cracking sound, his hikari nervously peeking inside.  
/_Can... Can I sleep here?_/

* * *

Bakura naturally just had to get the wrong idea. Because.

And lol, I'm still trying to drive people mad with cliff-hangers. Not really, I just like 'em.

Until next time, see ya~. Oh and review? *puppyeyes* Because that's what keeps me going. owo

~Tiikerikissa


	4. Step Forward, Step Back

Hiya again~

I had this pretty much done for a week or so, I finished it just now 'cause my parents aren't around today. ^-^

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters, don't claim to.

Explaining some stuff so wouldn't get too confused.

_/Bakura talking to Ryou via mind link or vice versa/_

_"A spirit of Kul Elna talking"_

"Talking, Bakura speaking not-to-Ryou"

_-Ryou thinking-_

And while Bakura says/thinks "Kul Elna", Ryou thinks it "Kuru Eruna". Because he's only ever heard it from Yugi and Japanese just works like that. Na.

One more thing before I'll let you read. It's indeed "seven days left" here. Because "next week" isn't the same as "in seven days".

* * *

The stare Bakura gave Ryou made the latter want to apologize at least twenty times and then run away.  
_/I couldn't sleep!/_ Ryou nearly screeched to prevent Bakura from taking it the wrong way. It wasn't like he didn't want to- he stopped his thought train there.

He was honestly honest here. He couldn't sleep, he was too worried about Bakura's well-being (seven days, seven days, seven daysssss...), so he had thought he could go to his yami. And that had been his worst idea ev-

_/Whatever./_ Bakura muttered, finally looking away from the teenager again.  
_/What?/_ Ryou asked, snapping out of his thoughts. He stepped inside before his yami could change his mind. Because "whatever" means "I don't care" which means "do what you want". Ryou was pretty sure the yami's logic was something along those lines. Or maybe he was hopeful.

Either way he got inside, and that was all the white-haired teenager cared about at the time.

The soul room of his yami's was weird. It was like a haunted house, in a way. The walls were black, and the ceiling was dark blue. All of the corners of the room were covered in spider webs and sand. A weird combination of ancient and Egypt. This results ancient Egypt. How smart.

There weren't too many pieces of furniture, just the bed, which Bakura was now sitting on. Then there was a big hourglass leaning against the opposite wall. Ryou got a sick feeling in his stomach seeing that there wasn't too much sand left.

Then there was a scrapbook-sort-of-a-thing next to the hourglass. Ryou really wanted to take a quickly look at it, but wouldn't dare to touch the yami's belongings, instead sitting on the bed.  
_/Do you like it here?/_ he couldn't help but asking, wanting to understand the spirit better.  
_/Maybe. Why do you care?/_ the spirit turned his head pointedly away from the teen, now looking at the ceiling.

_/I want to understand./_ Ryou gave him the honest answer before looking at the ceiling too. _/Hey, are those stars?/_ he then asked, referring to the yellow orbs painted on the dark blue background. They sure looked stars, but they were positioned a bit different from the ones on the actual night sky. Maybe stars looked like that back in ancient Egypt...

_/What else would they be, really?/_ Bakura frowned.  
Ryou shrugged. _/They look nice./_ The stars seemed to shine from the background in the dark.

_/Can you name any?/_ Ryou then asked Bakura.  
Bakura smirked, which looked even scarier than normally in the darkness. _/As if a tomb robber knew the names of stars. I can only tell which way is north and such. It's there./_ he moved his hand to trace a line in the air.

Then Bakura stopped talking again, leaving Ryou to stare at the painted stars without anything to say. He carefully snuggled closer to his yami, and it wasn't long before sleep took over him.

-Bakura's POV-

When his yadonushi moved closer to Bakura and fell asleep, he wanted to push the teen away. He really did. But with the lost souls of Kul Elna wandering around Bakura soul room that wasn't really an option.

The souls were even more annoying now that Bakura's yadonushi was there.

_"Can I kill him for you?"_ one of the afore-mentioned lost souls asked Bakura in Arabic, glancing at his yadonushi.

"No." Bakura growled quietly,.  
_"Again with the modern language... Why not?"_ The ghost questioned without even bothering to hide how annoyed it was.

"Because I need him alive." Bakura stated, changing the language to Arabic to get the spirit to stop bothering him. He kept looking between the fragile teen and the ghost. The combination was no good.

_"Need or want?"_ the ghost let out a dark laughter.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bakura glared at the ghost, only to see it disappear again. He relaxed slightly, no more spirits in sight. They could get really annoying when they'd repeat the same lines about revenge. And when they'd replay the things that happened back in Kul Elna to Bakura... That was near torture. They remembered the time so vividly; it was nearly as bad as the time when Bakura was actually there.

Not to mention how they would kill the trespasser in the soul room if Bakura let them.

Keep the teen close or let him die. Sadly Bakura would die too if he let the other die, so his options were down to one.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around the teen. "I could've just said no..." he muttered to himself.

A spiteful laughter was the last thing he heard before falling asleep. _"Just don't forget our revenge..."_

_Seven days left..._

-Ryou's POV-

Ryou woke up with a yawn and attempted to stretch, but his arms refused to move. A wave of panic hit him before he opened his eyes.  
_-Oh. Bakura's hugging me. Well, that explains- wait, Bakura what?-_ his sleepy mind understood the situation quite slowly.

But it was true. Bakura was laying on the bed, his hands wrapped around Ryou's waist and Ryou on top of him. Ryou blushed deeply at their position. -Right. I came to his soul room since I couldn't sleep... But how can I get away now?-

He didn't need to worry about this too long, though, as soon Bakura woke up. His eyes widened for a brief moment before he pushed Ryou away.  
_/Leave./_ he muttered to his yadonushi.  
Ryou saw something move on the edge of his vision, which took his attention, preventing him from being hurt by Bakura's words. Bakura let out a low growl, and the... thing disappeared. Just like that. Almost like Bakura could communicate with it.

_/What was that?/_ Ryou asked his yami, wondering if he should be concerned or panicking or just ignore it.  
_/Nothing./_ Bakura muttered. _/Just go./_

_/Tell me first./_ Ryou demanded.  
_/No I won't./_ Bakura glared at him.  
Ryou stood there stubbornly. _/Then I'll stay./_  
_/Fine. My soul room is haunted and that was a ghost. Happy?/_ Bakura muttered. His voice didn't betray much emotion, but Ryou thought his yami might be actually telling the truth for once. Ryou had heard a little about Kuru Eruna or something like that once when he had asked Yugi about the Millennium World.

Bakura then forced Ryou away from his soul room. Once Ryou was back in control of his body again, he sighed. _/No, I'm not happy. I want to understand./_

No answer from Bakura. Ryou sighed and glanced at the clock on his nightstand, only to see he had overslept by over three hours.  
"I guess that's what happens when you don't sleep well... Oh well. I would've ditched anyways." he assured himself. Because there was absolutely no way that he had a week to convince his yami to stay alive and he'd waste it at school.

_/What's with the bad guy attitude? Going to kill the Pharaoh any time soon?/_  
Ryou shook his head slightly. _/You. And no./_  
_/You can't seriously mean it's all my fault!/_  
Ryou laughed at the irony. _/And you care since when?/_  
_/I don't./_ Bakura denied, and Ryou could imagine his yami pouting here.  
_/Heh. I should've seen that coming./_ Ryou thought to Bakura while holding a piece of toast in his hand.  
_/True./_  
_/I know right?/_ Ryou threw the toast in the air and caught it.

_/Are you dragging this conversation on?/_ Bakura suddenly asked.  
_/Sherlock./_ Ryou laughed quietly.  
_/Huh?/_  
Ryou chuckled. No Sherlock Holmes in ancient Egypt, naturally. _/I mean YES, I AM indeed dragging this conversation on./_  
_/Why?/_ Bakura sounded actually confused for once.  
_/Because... Becausebecausebecause... I mean I have a reason but I can't tell it to him, now can I? What if I mess up the past or something? Plus it's awfully embarrassing and all that.../_

_/Tell me more, yadonushi?/_ Bakura asked him, amused.  
Ryou quickly snapped out of his thoughts. _/What?/_  
_/About how you can't tell 'him' because it would be awfully embarrassing?/_ he had apparently decided to ignore the first part. Maybe because it made absolutely no sense to him.

Ryou blinked twice and the now half-eaten toast slipped through his fingers. _/I can't believe I just said that! Fucking mind link!/_  
_/You're doing it again, foul language./_  
_/Gah, how do I close this thing again?/_ Ryou was trying to fish the toast from the floor and close the mind link partially at the same time, without success in either task.

_/I think it's like the more we talk, the less you can hide./_ Bakura muttered. _/Before you ask, the same works for me, too, yes./_ he sighed mentally.  
_/That kinda sucks... Or does it? I'm not sure. I think I might learn to like this. Yugi handles it pretty well, too./_ Ryou mused to himself, finally managing to fish the toast from the floor. It had managed to drop so the butter was smudged on the floor. _/Stupid laws of physics.../_

_/Wait, what, so you're not closing the mind link?/_  
Ryou threw the toast in the trash and shook his head violently. _/No way, no way I'd do that now! Not now that I finally reached you a little!/_

That managed to silence the tomb robber, and the teenager didn't really look forward to starting another conversation from the awkward situation where the last one had ended.

_/I never agreed to any of this!/_ Bakura suddenly declared.  
_/Huh?/_ Ryou was just making his way outside to catch some fresh air when Bakura had snapped him out of the usual routine of his.  
_/Would you all just SHUT UP!/_ Bakura screeched.  
_/Bakura?/_ Ryou was concerned about his yami. For all he could remember, nothing like this had ever happened before. So he did what he could, going into the yami's soul room to find out what this was all about.

-Bakura's POV-

Talking to his yadonushi for so long let Bakura hanging on the edge. His soul room didn't offer him any comfort either, but that was to be expected seeing how everything there screamed Kul Elna. The spirits were no help either - they sensed the very apparent change in his mood and wouldn't stop asking for the reason.

It was just one that finally managed to throw Bakura over the edge.  
_"You need to kill him."_  
"That's a stupid request; you know he's my life-line, my only one at that." Bakura snapped in Arabic. Killing his yadonushi sounded so absurd. Wrong, twisted, awful, feel free to take your pick.

_"And you know that it wasn't a request. You can always get yourself a new vessel. I will kill him if you can't do it yourself."_  
"I never agreed to any of this!" Bakura complained, stopping speaking Arabic only to annoy the spirit even further.

His voice was reaching the pitch of what could be referred to as a screech. This managed to get the undivided attention of every single ghost (and one teenage boy, but Bakura was very much oblivious of this) present.

_"Yes you did"_ one of the spirits hissed, circling around Bakura.  
_"You wanted power"_ another continued  
_"You wanted revenge"_ one declared.

"Would you all just SHUT UP!" Bakura screeched, holding his head in his hands. The horrible memories from Kul Elna were playing on repeat again.  
_/Bakura?/_  
And of course, the last person who Bakura wanted to add in the situation full of haunting ghosts and old wounds, his yadonushi.

Bakura whirled around to see him standing by the door. _/Leave right now or I will kill you!/_ he howled, glaring at the spirits and his yadonushi. He didn't want him to get hurt, he couldn't live with him dying like this. And the ghosts would carry on to their threat; they would kill the fragile whitette if he stood in the way of their revenge.

Hurt flashed in the yadonushi's eyes for a brief moment, but he hid it pretty well, nodding and turning around, the door all but slamming close after him.  
One thought of his slipped through the mind link to Bakura. _/And every step forward means two steps back.../_

* * *

No cliff-hanger? Yes cliff-hanger? I don't know either.

Leave a review and I'll update faster... owo


	5. Miss And Fix

Nyeh nyeh nyeh.

Last time I did Be My Eyes before this, so I did the opposite this time. :P

/maybe also 'cause Tendershipping's leading the poll right now... *pokes profile* I really listen to it too much. XD

**Warnings:** The usual, language, blood and abuse. Nothing too bad.

**Disclaimer:** I. Don't. Own. Yu-Gi-Oh. Tadah.

_/Bakura talking to Ryou via mind link or vice versa/_

_"A spirit of Kul Elna talking"_

"Talking, Bakura speaking not-to-Ryou"

If you find something written like -this-, it's my sketchy way to say it's an emphasis._  
_

* * *

Bakura didn't know what to do. He had hurt his yadonushi emotionally, and he felt more or less guilty for it.

The situation wouldn't have been half as bad if the spirits didn't keep talking to Bakura. They still wanted to kill his yadonushi, and Bakura had only found one way for silencing them - for a while.

Sadly it was something that tore Bakura's nonexistent heart into two. The only way to protect the fragile teen was hurting him.

Taking control over him and cutting him with a sharp knife.

After the incident in his soul room some hours ago Bakura had already done so twice. And he had apparently gone too far this time, because while the teenager was still breathing and his heart was still beating, he was unconscious.

The spirits were happy that Bakura was still capable of something like this, and they had even agreed to leave him alone - for a while.

Bakura still wasn't proud of himself.

-Ryou's POV-

Ryou woke up, only to wish he hadn't.

_/What happened?/_ he wondered until he noticed that his wrists were bleeding. Not much anymore, but there was a lot of blood on the floor.

It was a miracle he had even woken up.

He bandaged his wrists quickly to prevent any further damage [1], sadly realizing how Bakura had obviously done the cutting.

Then the doorbell of his apartment rang. Ryou quickly tugged his jacket on to hide the bandages and opened the door, standing in the doorway to hide all the blood on the floor behind him.

"Hi, Bakura-kun!" Yugi said cheerfully. "I thought I'd bring you your assignments, since you've been sick..." he trailed off. "...you look pale. Did something...?"

The question was supposed to go "did Bakura do something?", and Ryou knew it. Yes, Bakura had done something, but Yugi really didn't need to know that.

"No, I'm just sick." Ryou replied with a forced smile, taking the papers and books from Yugi.

Yugi seemed suspicious. "Oh, okay. Can I come inside?"

Ryou shook his head quickly, which made him slightly dizzy. "No, I, umm, need to rest..." he faked a yawn for effect.

Yugi nodded, still seeming just slightly suspicious. "Alright. I'll see you?"

The last bit sounded like a question, and Ryou briefly wondered if Yugi thought Ryou was going to die. He nodded anyways.

And as soon as the tricolour-haired teenager had gone back into the world of light, the other fell back into the darkness.

-Bakura's POV-

Bakura was half-wishing he would've talked to the awfully pale teenager when he had the chance. Because now he had slipped away again.

Did Bakura really deserve to talk to him?

Why not?

Because it was his fault any of this had even happened?

And why did that matter?

Was he in denial?

...not.

Bakura sat on the bed in his soul room, waiting for the other to wake up.  
"Great job, Bakura... You almost killed him." he muttered to himself, trying to make him feel better.

And needless to say, failing utterly.

_"You should be more proud of yourself."_

Just when ghostly reassurance was _not_ needed.

"I am proud!" Bakura whined childishly.  
The ghost let out a hollow laughter. _"Are you now?"_

Silent moment.

Bakura blinked twice, trying to think of a smart comeback. "...yes?"  
_"You sure don't sound like it."_ Another spirit.

"Well I am, so stop haunting me!" Bakura snapped. "You promised to let me be!"

_"I have to."_ the ghost snapped back _"Time is running out."_

Bakura shrugged, his gaze fixed on the hourglass on the opposite side of the room [2]. "I am aware."

_Four days left..._

-Ryou's POV-

_/Bakura?/_ Ryou questioned.

_/Huh? Oh, you're awake./_ came a slightly sleepy reply.

Ryou blinked. It was really dark. _/Awake? What happened? Why is everything so dark?/_

Bakura shrugged mentally. _/You... Umm. Fainted. And it's 3 AM, so darkness is pretty natural./_

Ryou panicked. _/How... How long was I gone?/_

_/29 hours and 13 minutes./ _[3] Bakura said quickly. _/I mean... Something like that./_

_/I WHAT? I missed 29 hours unconcious?/_ Ryou cried, too shocked to address the detail about how easily Bakura remembered the time.

So that meant he had four days.

_/Why are you that bothered by this? Not like you've been doing much lately anyways./_ Bakura asked, sounding... Hurt? Nah, probably not.

_/What do you think I have been doing?/_ Ryou countered.

_/.../_

_/Well?/_

_/Talking to me?/_ Bakura replied carefully.

Ryou nodded. Once. Twice. Three times before the loss of blood made him feel dizzy again. "Ow!"

_/I have to say; don't move, get something to eat and rest. You'll die if you something stupid./_ Bakura sighed.

Ryou layed still for a while. _/...how do I stay here AND get something to eat?/_

_/Ask your friends to help?/_ Bakura tried.

Ryou laughed sarcastically. _/At 3 AM? Only Yugi -might- come, and he would send you straight to Shadow Realm! Because of all the blood!/_ he cried.

_/Ugh, sorry. I'm tired and not thinking straight./_ Bakura muttered.

Ryou gasped. _/Did I just hear you say you're sorry?/_

_/...no./_ Bakura denied.

_/Whatever you say, oh great yami of mine~/_ Ryou chirped.

_/You're annoyingly cheerful despite everything./_ Bakura grunted.

Ryou shrugged mentally, since doing something like that physically would be more or less -probably the first option- painful. _/I thought you were trying to cheer me up. Since there aren't too many people who would try to make me bleed to death./_

_/So you figured you could blame me for this?/_ Bakura snapped.

_/Nobody's blaming you, Bakura./_ Ryou disagreed.

_/Fair enough. You try to rest and you can blame me in the morning./_ Bakura said, possessing Ryou's weakened body without a warning.

-Bakura's POV-

_/Hey! Yami! What the bloody hell are you doing?/_ Ryou screeched after being thrown into his soul room.

_/Shut up, you can thank me later./_ Bakura returned, teetering on his feet carefully. It hurt more than he had supposed, and he felt bad for making his yadonushi go through it again and again.

Ryou seemed confused. _/I can?/_

Bakura refused to nod, having seen how it had affected the other just a little while ago. He took a few slices of bread from the cupboard. _/Yes. I'm not disappearing just yet./_

_/I don't want you to disappear. Ever. You can't leave me alone!/_ Ryou cried.

The spirit of the Millennium Ring decided to not address this little outburst, since it had probably only slipped through. Instead, the took some juice and butter from the white, tall and cold box like the other had done before.

/What are you even doing?/ his yadonushi asked.

Bakura walked to the smaller whitette's bedroom with a lunch tray. _/You'll see in.../_ he placed the lunch tray on the bedside table. _/One, two/_ he sat on the bed _/three./_ he retreated into his soul room.

-Ryou's POV-

Ryou opened his eyes carefully, kind of expecting to see a bloodthirsty monster from the Shadow Realm all ready so eat his brain.

What he saw wasn't exactly that, but shocking regardless.

There was actual food actually on his bedside table.

Four slices of bread clumsily arranged on top of each other, with salad and cucumber and stuff in between.

An apple and a cup of orange juice.

_/I must have a bad influence over you. You're actually shocked because it's food instead of that monster of yours?/_ Bakura joked, though Ryou again thought he had heard hurt in the spirit's tone.

_/Thanks Bakura. You're the best~/_ Ryou figured he shouldn't worry about the food being poisoned. Bakura was trying to help.

_/Trying to help? Me? Am I in denial?/_ Bakura mused.

Ryou almost choked on his food. _/In denial about...?/_ How he wished he knew the answer.

_/CLOSE THE RA-DAMNED MIND LINK!/_ Bakura howled.

Ryou took a sip of his orange juice. _/Why don't you do it?/_ he offered, really enjoying the current situation.

Bakura frowned in his mind._ /Already did, but it doesn't help since your side is hanging open./_ he complained._ /So close it./_

_/Make me./_ Ryou challenged.

Bakura smirked. _/You will so regret saying that./_

And before Ryou had the chance to say "Thief King Bakura" his mind was filled with a million and sixty-four mental images.

Such as Marik Ishtar. Shirtless Marik Ishtar.

_/Yami! Stop that!/_ Ryou cried. Not only because he didn't like these mental images (that's what he told himself), but also because they brought him thinking about his own yami.

Shirtless.

* * *

[1] Bakura took the bandages close _just in case_ before hurting Ryou.

[2] Hopefully clears what the hourglass is for. I wish it was already obvious, though.

[3] I was too tired, so there's a slight chance I did the math wrong... o.o'' When Bakura says how long Ryou was gone, he's counting from the moment he fainted the second time, so Yugi's visit was around seven. _I think._

I would've written more, but you know how much I love my cliffhangers~

Well um. Review and I'll be more inspired to continue.


	6. Just Like That

I feel tempted to post a spoiler about the next chapter here...! But I won't. Nope.

Again, I'll be gone from June 6th to June 14th (on a church camp...), so no updates or review replys during that time~! D:

But yeah, I might (slim chance) update this once more before leaving. But seriously, don't count on it. :/ I'll rather update Be My Eyes if I want to update something...

**Warnings:** Language. I don't think there's that much else.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own. I hope you're happy.

_/Bakura talking to Ryou via mind link or vice versa/_

_"A spirit of Kul Elna talking"_

_-Mystery thingy talking-  
_

"Talking, Bakura speaking not-to-Ryou"

* * *

Bakura took all the fun he could from torturing his yadonushi without _actually_ physically hurting him.

Besides, it was the good kind of torture, if that was possible.

The kind -friends- do to each other. They are mean, but only because they are friends. Bakura had seen his yadonushi communicate with people like this before.

The smaller teenager accidentally sent Bakura a mental image of, well yeah, Bakura. Shirtless.

And then he _attempted_ to close the mind link really quick, to avoid embarrassment most likely.

Keyword: attempted

But this did no good, seeing how Bakura had his side open now.

_/I thought you wanted to close the damn thing!/_ his yadonushi complained, the word "EMBARRASSED" written all over his thoughts.

Bakura smirked mentally. _/Nah, I'm good. I have to say though, you have interesting fantasies.../_

The thief felt his yadonushi grow even more uncomfortable at these words. _/Thatwasn'tafantasy!/_ he muttered quickly, setting his now-finished food tray aside before covering his scarlet face in his pillow.

_/Right, of course not. And you're saying that it was a...?/_ Bakura said smugly and somewhat rhetorically.

The other's thoughts gained a determined aura here. _/I'm saying that it was just a random stray thought triggered by your fantasies! And it was about you only because you're on my mind all the time./_

A quiet moment.

_/I did not mean it like that!/_ the smaller whitette suddenly cried, apparently having realized what "on my mind" sounded like. _/I meant how you're poisoning my thoughts with some sick fantasies.../ _his determined aura faded and his thoughts started turning into random muttering_ /...blood and sexy Egyptians. What's wrong with pale skin?/_

Bakura wasn't sure what kind of a thought chain had led the other to this, and he really wasn't sure if he even wanted to know.

Instead of questioning this, Bakura yawned loudly, seeing how the whole "Yadonushi unconscious"-episode had kept him awake. And he liked sleeping, even though he didn't have his own body that would actually require sleep at the moment. /Don't be jealous./

His host seemed more or less amused by this. _/You stayed awake for those 28 hours? Worried much?/_

Starting to remember why had wanted the mind-link closed in the first place, Bakura snapped at his yadonushi irritably. _/I'm not waiting another 3000 years to carry on my revenge, so you're not dying./_

His yadonushi whimpered slightly. _/Do you have to?/_

_/Have to what?/_ Bakura half-snapped, only a little curious.

The small whitette looked at the window absently. "Your revenge. Don't do it." he whispered, so quietly his yami was the only one who could ever even dream of hearing it.

Bakura was irritated. Four more days until he could get started with the Ultimate Shadow Game and some now stupid brat thought he could tell Thief King Bakura what to do?

No way.

Not even if the brat in question was the closest to family Bakura had had in over 3000 years.

_/Of course I will. Who do you think you are?/_

His yadonushi sighed. _/Ryou Bakura/_ he pronounced his name carefully, almost like it had a special meaning. _/Your host...for a little while longer.../_ the last part sounded a little bitter for unknown reasons.

Bakura chuckled darkly. _/And I'm your master, and therefore superior to you. So drop it./_

_/Bakura-!/_ the teenager started, probably still aiming to convince his yami to give up on his revenge.

But the mind link closed.

_-Ryou's POV-_

Ryou lay back on the bed, now that he had nothing else to do.

Maybe if he wouldn't recover fast enough, Bakura would have to delay his revenge?

But the Pharaoh needed the Millennium Ring to get his memories back...

So would he kill Bakura (and maybe Ryou) to get it?

He would, and Ryou knew it.

He was supposed to hate his yami too, Ryou was supposed to want nothing more than to see him dead.

But Ryou loved him. Wasn't that enough reason for the Pharaoh to keep Bakura alive?

Ryou laughed hollowly.

Of course not. The _Pharaoh_ would never spare the life of -Thief King Bakura- just because of some low-life _slave_.

Besides, he had caused Ryou to fall in a _coma_ just to win a children's card game-!

...Some love trouble.

Ryou had a Stockholm Syndrome, since he was in love with a murderous tomb-robber who wanted nothing more than to kill some great Pharaoh from 3000 years ago, and Ryou now hated this Pharaoh, who had probably only ever tried to help him.

Yay.

Maybe Bakura was right before, maybe he really did have a bad influence over his host, at least considering how Bakura used to take care of all the Pharaoh-hating.

Not like Ryou minded. It wasn't the Pharaoh he loved, after all, it was the sadistic Thief King, and he had had to face the facts about his love ages ago.

#1: It was strong (and he was in it too deep to back down)  
#2: It was crazy (fragile teenage boy and a sadistic, cold, cruel. sexy 3000-year old tomb robber)  
#3: It was unrequited (Bakura had made it quite clear with the cutting and stuff...)

But due to #1 and partly #2, Ryou couldn't help but try.

"Again with the trying..." he sighed aloud. "It doesn't matter if it ends up in a failure after all the trying. Then it's game over and there's no changing it."

_/Just shut up and rest./_ Bakura suddenly snapped.

Ryou practically jumped, seeing how he hadn't noticed the mind-link reopening. _/H-how long have you been l-l-listening?/ _he shuttered in distress.

_/Who knows.../_ Bakura chuckled.

_/Bakura! I'm serious! It's not funny!/_ Ryou cried, trying to sit up but failing due to all the pain.

Bakura frowned at this. _/I'm serious too. I don't want your body half-dead, so rest./_

Ryou slowly turned to his side. "You should've considered that before slicing up my wrists..." he murmured.

_/Shut up. Shut. Up./_ Bakura ordered, somewhere between a growl and a mere whisper.

Ryou felt a little bad for saying that, even though it probably hadn't hurt his yami. But still, the other had made Ryou food and stuff. Ryou wasn't really being fair here.

"Sorry. Just tell me what I want to know and I'll rest?" Ryou compromised.

A mental shrug worked as a reply. _/You were listing things. One-two-three./_

Ryou couldn't really say if Bakura was honest or not, and if he had understood what Ryou did the listing for, but he refused to think about all the things Bakura could've heard. _/Thanks. Good night, Bakura./_

The other yawned. _/5 AM is hardly considered 'night'.../_ he complained.

But Ryou was already drifting off. "Sleep... well..." he murmured softly.

_-Bakura's POV-_

Bakura sighed softly as the other part of the mind-link blurred slightly. He was indeed twisted, first hurting the other and then trying to make it all better with a few nice words.

_-Thief King Bakura... Would have never imagined you could scoop so low...-_

The mentioned Thief King looked around in his soul room cautiously. It wasn't his yadonushi speaking, that was for sure. His voice, whether mental or actual, was always soft and sweet, like some "candy"-kind of thing.

But this voice was cruel and cold. Bitter. It sounded only slightly familiar as it echoed in his soul room.

After these thoughts, Bakura heard laughter. Nothing like his small, white-haired host's chiming giggles, this sound was born from one's hatred.

_-Don't you dare to wish you could get away from me.-_

Bakura growled, for he didn't like being told what to do. Not to mention (and he never would) that he was a little maybe kind of possibly scared.

No response was heard, and the only thing left in Bakura's soul room from the incident was an eerie silence.

With this, he reluctantly fell asleep.

_-Ryou's POV-_

Upon waking up at 2 PM, Ryou knew Bakura had been right. Rest had truly been good for him. Ryou felt a lot better now, and he could probably even go do something if he felt like it.

But since his number one goal at the moment was still to convince Bakura to stay alive, he didn't really feel like leaving his bed, instead patiently waiting for his yami to wake up.

Ryou tried to read his mind many times in the past, thinking Bakura wouldn't have his mental walls up while he was asleep, but the yami subconsiously pushed him away every time.

So he ended up deciding such thing was plain useless and gave up trying.

But luckily for him, Bakura often "sleep-talked", as in said things through the mind-link while deep asleep, so Ryou could have some hints of the things his yami dreamed about.

_/No.../_

Another nightmare, it seems. Ryou felt Bakura's feelings blurredly flow through the mind-link, and they were far from pleasant.

_/I won't have it!/_

When was the last time Bakura willingly lost something? Never. So this was nothing Ryou hadn't heard before, it was another nightmare of Bakura losing to Yami Yugi.

No matter if it was card games, knife play or anything else Bakura's mind managed to generate, that was all he dreamed about. Winning and losing against Yami Yuugi.

_/Mine!/_ Bakura cried childlishly and suddenly woke up.

Ryou quickly made an attempt of thinking about something else, anything except his yami and his dreams.

So he ended up thinking about pancakes.

"Pancakes, pancakes~" the small whitette hummed as he walked into the kitchen. "Morning Bakura. Slept well?"

_/How could I with all the fucking nightmares... Yea. What's with the pancakes?/_ was Bakura's reply, with a probably unintended slip about his nightmares.

Ryou decided to address the slip to revenge the teasing Bakura had done to him earlier. _/You had another nightmare? Poor thing! And I'm hungry. Pancakes are good./_

_/WHAT? You know about those?/_ Bakura howled.

Oops. Ryou realized too late that he had apparently let his thoughts slip through a little more than he had imagined he would. _/With raspberry jam./_ he tried changing the subject feebly, while getting the ingredients for his pancakes from the cupboards.

For once, Bakura actually took it. _/I see. I thought you preferred blueberries./_

Ryou blinked twice, for he had never mentioned this to Bakura. _/I do. But we ran out of them./_

_/I see./_ Bakura repeated himself.

Ryou nodded slowly. _/Yes...?/_

_/Are you dragging the conversation on again?/_ Bakura questioned.

_/Maybe./_ Ryou shrugged.

The other snorted. _/Well, don't. It's not worth it./_

_-Bakura's POV-_

Bakura truly believed that.

However weird it sounded, normal teenager things (whatever those are) should've been more insteresting than talking to some cruel 3000-year old tomb robber.

And if not, at least it was safer.

_-Thief King Bakura, taking care of some weakling...-_

"Shut up, you pathetic loser! Who are you, anyway?" Bakura howled.

_-You don't need that knowledge.-_

"Well, just so you know, that 'weakling' happens to be my host! I need him alive!" the thief growled irritably, repeating the same sentence that he had used for countering the ghosts. Their company was more than enough for him, and this voice was so not some stupid dead spirit.

And Bakura wasn't scared.

Only for his host.

Not like he cared!

Just that he needed the other... To stay alive. Nothing more.

These words ran false, even in Bakura's own head. He sighed and his eyes searched for the hourglass again. Because it was proof; this wouldn't last, none of it. He'd go against the Pharaoh and defeat him in the ultimate Shadow Game.

(Or not, but he'd rather not jinx it.)

(Jinxing things is for weaklings, so that's why.)

_/Finished with your fucking pancakes?/_ Bakura quickly snapped at his host, a little more irritably than he had wanted to. He had nothing against pancakes, either. Steaks just so happened to be a whole lot better.

_/They are almost done~!/_ his yadonushi said, somewhere between happy and proud. For some weird reason, Bakura was failing to make him miserable lately.

Not like he had ever really aimed for it, but it was still strange.

While he wondered about this, his other half took out the jam and orange juice and set everything on the kitchen table.

"Four more days..." the small white-haired teenager muttered while poking his pancake with a fork.

_/What's your obsession with four days?/_ Bakura asked, just to distract himself from wondering whenever the ghosts would be back to bother him again.

"Chinese people consider four the number of death. They're pronounced the same way." the other offered him as an answer.

_/And that has what to do with what?/_ Bakura continued absently, seeing how he had no interest in Chinese people and their beliefs whatsoever.

"That has nothing to do with anything, that's what this is all about." the smaller whitette finally answered after finishing his last pancake and before moving his plate aside to lean over the table. "What now?"

-Ryou's POV-

Ryou looked around in his apartment machine absently, looking for something to do, when he noticed the phone on the table blinking with a green light. Voice mail.

Oh joy...

He pressed the button reluctantly to listen to the messages.

_"Hi Bakura-kun! Yugi here!"_ One of the few people who would bother to check up on Ryou.  
_"...are you alright?"_ a few seconds' silence.  
_"Your yami didn't do anything to you... Right?"_  
_"...No, mou hitori no boku, I don't think Bakura-kun would feel better if we killed his yami..."_ Got one right.  
_"Because!"_  
_"Bakura-kun wouldn't lie to me, he's a friend!"_ Ryou found this somewhat comforting, even if his "friend" was wrong about him. (again)  
_"Maybe... You don't think he's on his yami's side on this?"_ Nevermind...  
_"No, you don't get a say. This is my phone-call."_  
_"I am talking! All the time!"_  
_"What? Oops!"_

-Beep-

_"What is this thing?"_  
_"You're supposed to talk to Bakura-kun **now** and he'll listen to it later!"_ Or he'll just delete the message if there's no point to it?  
_"Oh. Well, hi then! It's me, Jounouchi! And Honda is here too! Just to say get well and stuff!"_  
_"If your yami did something, just say the word and we'll come beat him up!"_

-Beep-

_"Hi Bakura-ku-"_

_"Message deleted"_

-Beep-

_"You have won-"_

_"Message deleted"_

Naturally, these messages got Ryou's spirits down. His so-called 'friends' truly didn't trust him, all just because of his yami.

Even if he was actually siding with his yami (seeing how he kind-of-maybe-possibly -loved- the bitter tomb-robber)... Okay, so they had no reason to trust him. But it still wasn't fair, friends were supposed to trust each other even if they weren't worth one's trust...

Ryou absently noticed the influence Bakura had over him again. But he didn't really mind.

_-Bakura's POV-_

Meanwhile, Bakura was completely ignoring his host. But he had his reasons: he had managed to anger a stray ghost by saying something he shouldn't have.

_"Master Zorc should kill him right now..."_ the ghost hissed in Egyptian while Bakura looked around for something to distract it with.

Bakura blinked, for he didn't know about any ghosts with names (or at least any of the ghosts' names), but "Zorc" sounded vaguely... Important. Like something he shouldn't have forgotten just like that. "Nani?"

* * *

The usual... "Nani?" means "What?"

Reviewz?


	7. Things Don't Work Out

*sweatdrop* Well, that was an embarrassingly long wait... *looks away guiltily* Other things caught up to me... I wanted to get this done and up sooner, I swear...

I just... Want to say a few words to get over 2K words. /shot

Anyways. This is almost done, and I want to start a ** new Tendershipping chaptered story**. If you have any kind of thing you'd prefer to read (action/adventure/fluff/pwp anything really), I'd love to consider it. I have 10+ chaptered!ideas (along with 50+ oneshot ideas), but I really can't start all of them right now... Right? So say something, help me out.

I still don't own. ^^;

...I can't remember what "" means anymore. Check the last chapter if you're as brain-dead. XD

* * *

_"Love. The great Thief King Bakura thinks he is in love?"_

Bakura found himself in a bad position to start arguing about the terms of attraction, crush and love, mostly because the spirits of Kul Elna seemed more or less supportive of the Zorc-whatsoever, and they were currently encircling him quite unnervingly.

_"I thought I erased such pathetic emotions from my soul… You must have reawakened them somehow."_

"You don't make any sense!" Bakura growled, causing some of the spirits to sneer at him.

"_Think you are superior to me now that you've learned to love, little Thief King? Well think again. You are still just a puppet of mine."_

"IT'S NOT FUCKING LOVE!" Bakura hollered, causing the spirits and Zorc's eerie form to look at him amusedly. Why did he have to say that? It wouldn't do him any good to disagree with Zorc at this point. He would just get himself killed.

"_What would you call it, then?"_

Bakura shifted his weight awkwardly. "Friendship…. Attraction, at most…" Lies. He was in love, there was no use to deny it, to himself, at least.

"_Very well. Soon you'll see just why you should have never fallen in love, Thief King."_

_-Ryou's POV-_

What day was it?

Ryou hadn't been so lost in ages. Even after he had fainted, Bakura had been there to tell him exactly (so exactly it was almost scary) how long he had been out.

But now it felt like Bakura's consciousness was gone. Like Bakura had never even existed.

All of their previous conversations… Were those for nothing, too? Didn't Bakura care enough to let his host know he was _alive_?

Probably not. Of course not. Why would he?

_/Ryou? Ryou!/_

_Bakura?_

No, wait, Bakura never called Ryou by his name. He wasn't _worthy _of being referred to by his name… Yadonushi, host, brat, weakling… Anything but 'Ryou'.

_/Amane?/_

_/Yes! Ryou, listen! Don't get overly emotional or I'll have to yank you back from there! Okay?/_

_/WHAT? Why didn't you mention this before sending me here?/_

_/I didn't think it would become such a problem! You're more unstable than I first thought, big brother!/_

_/Fine. Okay, thanks./_

Ryou still tugged at the mind link – he had to try it, no matter what his sister had said.

Again. Again. And again.

But, of course, it was no use.

Defeated, but still unwilling to give up, Ryou sighed and got started with his biology homework. If… He didn't even want to _consider_ the horrible scenario that maybe, possibly…

Thathe'dbeyankedbackandthe'Ryou'.

It wouldn't happen. It couldn't.

Ryou wanted to talk to Bakura, but the tomb robber kept the mindlink closed and locked and chained and stuff. It was like he suddenly didn't even want to acknowledge Ryou's existence, let alone have a conversation with his host.

That didn't stop Ryou from trying, though.

And trying.

And trying.

And trying.

After three hours had passed since the last time Bakura showed any signs of being alive (by snarling _'Stay the fuck out of my mind'_, but Ryou would rather think he said something else), Ryou was starting to get worried.

It wasn't like Bakura couldn't take care of himself (of course he could. He would never need Ryou to look after him), but Ryou didn't know what he would do if something happened to his dark side.

Correction: Yes he did. Ryou knew exactly what he would do if something were to happen to Bakura; He would spend his days pretending to be happy, pretending to be _okay_...

But he, too, would be dead. A part of him would die with Bakura no matter how hard he tried to deny it, how hard he tried to prevent it.

Maybe the only way to prevent that from happening was to prevent Bakura's death in the first place.

Wasn't that way Ryou was there, at the very moment?

Because his sister, who had died some years back and was watching over his brother, hated seeing Ryou like that, just throwing his life away. Because they both knew he had nothing to live for if Bakura were to die.

Knowing patience was, once again, a virtue, he decided to wait until night and _then_ annoy the crap out of his yami. And then everything would be all right…

_Maybe._

_-Bakura's POV-_

_How many hours minutes seconds DAYS?_

_If yadonushi feels like this every time I take over…_

…_no wonder he hates me. I would too._

_I do too. I hate me._

_And I hate him._

_I hate Zorc for locking me out._

_I hate yadonushi for being who he is._

_I hate the Pharaoh for making me do all this._

_I hate the spirits of Kul Elna for being so persistent._

_I hate myself for being so weak._

_Little thief king…_

_Unable to do anything with everything he once knew got wiped out._

_Turned into gold._

_Gold. Isn't that funny?_

_It's not._

…_I hate me._

_If it wasn't for me, his life would've been perfect. And then he, in turn, wouldn't have fucked up mine._

_Oh, but if I didn't exist, there wouldn't be a life to fuck up. I think._

_It's not like it matters anymore. I exist._

_I do._

_I exist and I'll fucking keep existing until I fuck up everything so much it turns out okay-_

_/Bakura?/_

_/What?/_

_I'm speaking to him? Only I'M NOT. It's not fucking me! It's not! I hate him for being so fucking BLIND!_

_/Are you alright, Bakura?/_

_Not Bakura not Bakura not Bakura not Bakura not Bakura not Bakura_ _NOT FUCKING BAKURA!_

_/I don't need your concern, you fucking weakling!/_

_Besides, I wouldn't even say that. I wouldn't call him a weakling when he's not one._

_I would._

_I would call him a weakling -and- beat him up to get him to stop worrying about me. Because I don't need anyone to worry about me._

_No wonder he hates me._

_/W-what?/_

_/Just shut up! /_

_-Ryou's POV-_

Ryou yawned widely, deciding to finally call it a day with his homework, even when he hadn't got much done. No matter how much he had tried, his mind always trailed off to his dark side.

Why couldn't he care?

Was it really so wrong of him to ask the cruel, 5000-year old, bitter tomb robber to care, just a little?

…on a second thought…

_/Bakura?/_

He wanted to try once more.

_/What?/  
_

Bakura sounded so malicious again… Maybe he had always been like that, only pretending to care a little bit. Yeah… That sure sounds like something he might do… But this was something Ryou had to do. It was something only he could do, and he would.

_/Bakura! You just need to listen to me, yami!/_

The tomb robber at the other end of the mind link was quiet, so Ryou just assumed he had his yami's attention.

_/You died. You lost the duel against Yami Yugi and got banished wherever! You can't die on me again! I-I-I love you!/_

Silence.

_/Fucking retard. Did I not make myself clear already? I don't need you or your so called 'love'. I hate you./_

_-Bakura's POV-_

_/Bakura! You just need to listen to me, yami!/_

_I am listening. What else do you supposed I would do? I'M STUCK HERE._

_/You died. You lost the duel against Yami Yugi and got banished wherever! You can't die on me again! I-I-I love you!/_

_….I wouldn't lose. My plan is foolproof. You're just…_

…_when has he ever lied to me?_

_I love you too, Ryou.  
_

_/Fucking retard. Did I not make myself clear already? I don't need you or your so called 'love'. I hate you./_

Ryou let out a wail that let Bakura know Ryou wasn't lying. Ryou was dead serious.

And after that, Ryou's consciousness just dimmed to Bakura somehow. His willpower got suppressed under Zorc's somehow, Bakura just knew.

/Ryou…/

_-Ryou's POV-_

He didn't know what hurt the most. Was it that Bakura didn't want his worry? Was it that Bakura knew and didn't care?

Was it that Bakura hated him?

Whatever the reason, he cried. He let out a screech, and after that…

After that it was already too late.

In his blurry vision, Ryou saw Amane floating before him.

_/I'm so sorry, big brother. I have to take you back. You can't stay here anymore./_

/No, don't!/

Ryou cried, _/Don't do this! I want to stay! I have to!/_He probably fell down on his knees, but it was of no importance to him anymore.

_/I'm so sorry, big brother…/_

And somewhere along the distance, he heard another voice.

_/Ryou…/_

* * *

_Derp._

What can I say?

I wish I could've done a better with this. It just didn't want to work out... Gomen.

Throw me a few reviews and the last chapter is yours. Ironically, I wrote it before chapter 3. /shot_  
_


	8. Please, Tie It In a Safe Knot

Mandatory thank-yous to everyone who has ever showed a little affection towards this! So that would be (in no special order other than messed-up alfabets)... **AmeeraSakura, exploisve sugarberry, earthluva, Fluffy no Danna **(Because I look up to her... ._.)**, Kiara victory Tatsu, Krazynkuki, MegaKiraraLover, Queen of the Silent Ones **(Because you're so awesome)**, Ryou VeRua **(Because first review ever will always be special)**, seira-g **(Because I wouldn't complain either)**, TimeAndRhytmDoesIndeedSleep, Wamee, WolvesKey****, yaslanagirl, aminaluvr4life, Bakurafangirl12, bewarethedark, , Dakurakushita Hasu, DBZ-Fangrl, jayrobb328, JessesBlueHairedTwin, Kagimine **(Because I felt so welcomed and all fluffy~)**, KuraMalik, noffermans, Purpleshadowthief, RegalAngel, RiverTear980** (who really didn't creep me out :P)**, Shizuka dokuro **(who is to be thanked for me updating now~)**, Silverinumiko,SilverWhiteDragon, staytruetoyou, Superkitty140, Tender Loving Care** (who writes some of the epicest Tendershipping and faithfully reviewed~ Oh and pancakes. XD)**, TOD ZUYO, VampiresTDIfreddyfangirl, xXAnime4LifeXx, YamiBakura1988 **(who reviewed so often~) and** YoulookbetterwhenI'mdrunk**

Heh. I love you guys, every single one of you. And the people who read or even clicked the link and then left without ever telling me about it. You're all my friends now~ *group hug*

I got careless towards the end. This was my first fic and I did not think it through before writing. The last chapters might've come out weird because **I can't look back at this anymore**. So many mistakes... XD

But you guys deserved an ending of some kind, so here; the thing I wrote before chapter 3. :)

If you ever want to chat, look me up. I wish to see you again with some other Tendershipping or anything else?

I'll start one Tendershippy once I decide which. XD

* * *

Bakura let his eyes open slowly, only to display a shining light. He blinked once or twice, waiting for his eyes to adjust, and suddenly something hit his head hard from behind.

He quickly turned around, and upon seeing the girl, his memories came back to him.  
She had yellow clothes, wings of an angel, a halo on top of his head. But none of those features mattered like the last one. Her hair was pure white, a colour so familiar it hurt somewhere in Bakura's inexistent heart.

The tomb robber tried to remember her name. It had never really mattered to him, so it wasn't too easy.

"...Amane?" Bakura finally questioned, and saw the angelic face of hers turn into a scowl.

"Yes, Amane!" she all but screamed. "Ryou's sister! And do you have any idea of what you've done to my brother?"

Bakura flinched at the mention of Ryou, his memories flooding back to him again. How Ryou had wanted to convince him to stay alive, how Bakura (Zorc) had told him he didn't need the weakling's concern... If Ryou really cared for the tomb robber, that had to sting. But he hadn't even meant it! He had just wanted his hikari to not worry about him in case...

Wait.

Bakura's thoughts came to a halt here. "Am I dead?" he questioned the angelic girl without looking at her painfully familiar face.

"Yes. And in case you care, knowing him, he will refuse to keep on living without you there." came the cold answer from the girl.

"Fuck!" Bakura swore aloud. "I didn't even want to say it, and I left him at that..." he looked around for something to tear apart in his frustration, but the space was perfectly empty except for himself and the girl. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."

"Couldn't agree more..." Amane muttered. "And there's nothing I can do to help, either. I sent him to the past once, and that took almost all my pow-"

"What?" Bakura asked, confused. "You really did that? He wasn't lying?"

Amane gave Bakura a glare. "Ryou is not a liar like some."

The glare didn't affect Bakura, and neither did the obvious insult, but another mention of Ryou's name did, causing him to stumble backwards. Bakura sat on the floor (orgroundorwhatever), not at all aware of any time passing before Amane laughed.

"I have an idea!" she said, a very Ryou-like sweet (and cheeky) smile on her face.

"Will it keep him alive?" Bakura questioned, not feeling like he really needed to say his other side's name.

Amane nodded, suddenly looking very serious again. "If it works."

"I'm listening." Bakura said and sat up again.

Amane looked at him for a short while. "You don't have the Ring anymore, right?" she then asked.

Bakura's right hand automatically found it way on his chest, and he shook his head sadly. His only physical connection to Ryou, the Millennium Ring, was indeed not there.

Amane scowled, but shrugged afterwards. "Fine then. I don't think that's a problem, since we can use this instead..." she took a necklace with some shining blue stone on it from her neck.  
She must've seen the weirded-out stare on Bakura's face, for as she continued. "I got it from Ryou for my birthday. I wore it when I died."

"Ooh, great." Bakura said with sarcasm, rolling his eyes in spite of himself. "How does this pretty little necklace help Ryou?"

Amane ignored this, placing the necklace on the floor - or ground or whatever it was supposed to be. "I can't bring you back to life, but I can still curse you to stay in this necklace to make up for all your bad deeds." she said with a smile despite the word "curse".

"What?" Bakura asked, dumbfounded. How would that help his yadonushi?

"Because I think - I believe - I know you and Ryou are connected." Amane stated, nodding to herself. "And you've been too long gone to be reborn on your own, so I can curse you to stay in the necklace, toss it away and hope your bound to Ryou helps your spirit to find him." Amane kept a pause. "When your host - Ryou, if all goes well - dies, you'll die too. And be reborn and live happily ever after with him blah blah blah." She looked at Bakura here. "Got it memorized?"

"Mostly... What if it fails?" Bakura asked, only slightly concerned.

Amane shrugged. "You'll be stuck in there forever?" she took some kind of dust from her pocket and threw it around in a circle.

Bakura shrugged the thought off. "If you think it helps him..."

"If it works." Amane repeated. She had probably finished all the preparations for whatever she was about to do, as she stepped back and assured Bakura. "This will hurt. A lot. But you deserve it all for hurting him like this."

Bakura growled at this, but closed his eyes, the last thing he saw being nothing but white blankness.

Like he had died, he would be revived… Maybe.

* * *

Ryou Bakura woke up to see the sun shining into his bedroom. He started blinking rapidly so his eyes would get the chance to adjust. After he could see something again, Ryou slowly got on his feet, which, to his surprise, didn't give in as soon as soon has remembered what had happened.

He had gone to the past - had that been reality or just a painfully realistic dream? He absently sat on one of the chair surrounding the kitchen table. He had wanted Bakura to stay alive - he had failed, and Bakura had died again. Bakura had said he didn't need concern from a weakling like Ryou.

Then he recalled how Bakura had hurt him. Physically. He quickly tugged his right sleeve up and stared at the cuts his yami had made. They looked pretty old, as it had been over half a year since they were made. But Ryou was sure him going to the past had caused them. Maybe he was still dreaming, though.

"I promise I'll treasure these scars forever, Bakura." he said with a sad attempt of a smile.

Here Ryou cracked and started crying again. His eyes already felt like crying was the only thing he had done in the last few weeks (which might indeed be the case, actually), but the tears still kept rolling down his cheeks nonstop.

He was briefly aware that it was Monday, that he had overslept horribly, that he should be on his way to school right at that moment, but that felt awfully insignificant. Nobody would notice his absence anyways.

Then his blurry eyes caught sight of an envelope on the kitchen table. He reached for it half-heartedly, slowly taking it in his frail hands.

There was no address, and it only read the words _"Someone's thinking about you"_in a curly handwriting.

Ryou was confused - how had the envelope ended up on the kitchen table in the first place, was it for him, what was inside? Deciding there was only one way to find out, Ryou opened the envelope, dropping its insides on the table.

What it had contained shocked Ryou. He was positive that necklace was the same one he had given his sister shortly before her death. He took it in his hands, and it felt warm in a oddly comforting way. He let some sunlight shine on it, and it glowed softly.

He slid the necklace around his neck, feeling something that should've been long dead, literally. Another conciousness in his mind.

_/Yadonushi?/_ Ryou was in a loss of words. He was absolutely certain that he was imagining things. He _had to_be.

_/Ryou?/_another try.

Here the situation started to be too much for Ryou, and he fell back on his chair, falling unconscious.

_/Ryou? Ryou? Ryou! Fucking answer me, Ryou!/_

_-Bakura's POV-_

What if Ryou wouldn't wake up? What if he died? What if… Would Bakura float forever in nothingness, without a host to possess ever again?

All of those were such gloomy thoughts, but Bakura only found himself returning to the first ones over and over again.

_What if Ryou wouldn't wake up ever again?_

Would Bakura have to bury him? Wasn't that how people took care of corpses these days?

He didn't want to do that.

_-Ryou's POV-_

Ryou let his eyes flutter open, finding himself laying on his back on the floor, his back hurting awfully, an angelic voice yelling to him in his mind.

_/Ryou?/_the voice asked once more, close to screaming actually.

_/Yes, me, what, Bakura, are you alright, are you really real?/_Ryou said in his mind, his answers and questions turning into a weird mess.

_/I did not just fall back on a chair and faint.../_ the spirit muttered. _/What do you mean, am I real?/_

_/You should be dead./_Ryou blurted out without thinking about it.

_/Is that what you want?/_the spirit asked, sounding indifferent and hollow.

_/NO!/ _Ryou screeched._ /No way, no, never, I don't want you to be dead, I want you to be here with me but you died and you said that you didn't need me or love me or-_/ his comeback came to a sudden end because he started sobbing violently.

_/Fuck./_the spirit sounded deeply annoyed, and Ryou started whimpering. He did not want the spirit to hate him.

_/Ryou, I'm s-so-sorry!/_ he suddenly stammered. _/I didn't mean anything I said and.../_

Ryou's head snapped up. _/What? You didn't?/_

_/No, I was being possessed. Didn't your "friends" tell you?/_

Ryou shook his head here. He ignored the fact that his -friends- had lied to him, and he ignored the little detail about Bakura being possessed. He'd tell Ryou when he was ready - if ever. And if not, it wouldn't be important.

_/No, I guess they thought it would be better if I hated you.../_

Ryou felt Bakura smirk mentally at this. _/Did it work?/_

_/Not in the slightest./_

_/That's good./_

The was a short silence, which Ryou decided to break. _/Well?/_

_/Well what?/_Bakura sounded confused.

Ryou chuckled. _/Like, well are you going tell me how and why you're back from dead?/_

Another short silence.

_/Oh. Amane - your sister, kinda nice, little devious, quite evil, yeah, her - cursed me to stay in the necklace around neck for an undefined amount of time./_Bakura muttered.

_/...what? Why would she do that?/_the white-haired teen asked, dumbfounded.

Bakura laughed, without any sarcasm or cruelty, just this once. _/Why do you think? So I could be with you forever, stupid little Ryou./_

_Epilogue_

Ryou walked inside the classroom, almost glowing with fuzzy happiness.

"Ryou-kun!" Yugi beamed at him, a hardly concealed question in his eyes. _"Did something happen?"_

"Yugi-kun," Ryou acknowledged with a nod and a smile. "Nice to see you!" He leaned to ruffle the other's pointy hair affectionately.

"You too. I'm really glad you're..." he seemed to consider his words carefully. "...recovering."

/You're being too nice to him. He's the PHARAOH'S VESSEL!/

_/He's my friend./_Ryou insisted.

_/...fine, but if he lays one finger on you-/  
_

Ryou sighed happily. _/I'm just happy you're back./_

_/…me too./_

As Yugi noticed Ryou giggling lightly, he cocked his head. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just happy."

"I'm happy to hear that."

_/Ryou./_

/Yes?/

_/You can be with him as long as you come to my soul room later today./_

_/Trust me, yami, I wouldn't miss it for the world./_

_/…I like you. A lot./_

_/I love you too./_

_/…don't say the l-word…/_

* * *

There. Like I said. :D

Also, even if you're reading this in 2076 or something, review if you liked it... Or if you didn't. Either way.

(The title refers to the necklace, by the way. Bakura did't want to get lost in nowhere. Plus, wrapping the story up and securing it with a safe knot, ne?)

We'll meet again with another Tendershipping, right~?

_~Tiikerikissa  
_


End file.
